How to Import Repositories to GitHub: Quick Access Method
A one-URL shortcut for pulling a repository into GitHub from another version control host, demonstrated on a real website migration.
Migrating a project between version control hosts usually means digging through menus to find the right import option. GitHub actually has a direct URL for this that skips the search entirely: github.com/new/import.
The direct URL shortcut
Rather than navigating through GitHub's interface to find the repository import feature, going straight to github.com/new/import lands you on the import page immediately. This is useful for anyone who needs to consolidate projects on GitHub and doesn't want to hunt for the right button every time.
Walking through an actual import
The demonstration uses a real example: importing a personal website repository, a React project, so it can be used as the base for a company website build. The process is straightforward. You grab the repository link from wherever it currently lives, paste it into GitHub's import tool, give the new repository a name, and start the import. For a small project like this one, the import moves quickly.
Checking the repositories list right after starting the import shows the new repository already appearing and building, even before it's fully finished. Once complete, it looks identical to the source repository, just now hosted on GitHub.
How long it actually takes
Import time depends entirely on the size of the repository being moved. A small project can finish in a few minutes. Larger repositories with more history and files can take anywhere from a couple of minutes up to a few hours. That variability is worth planning for if you're migrating something substantial, since kicking off the import is fast but the actual transfer time is out of your hands.
Key takeaways
- github.com/new/import is a direct shortcut to GitHub's repository import tool, skipping menu navigation.
- The workflow is simple: paste the source repository link, name the new repository, and start the import.
- Small repositories import in a few minutes; larger ones can take hours.
- You can watch the new repository begin building in your repositories list before the import finishes.
Try it yourself
Anyone consolidating projects from Bitbucket, GitLab, or another host onto GitHub can use this shortcut to save a few clicks each time. It's a small workflow improvement, but one worth bookmarking if repository migration is a recurring task.
Full transcript(auto-generated, with timestamps)
[0:00]Okay, Professor Barrett here. I'm going to quickly show you how to use the web version of GitHub import GitHub new import uh to clone a repository. So, I'm going to clone my website mcbearb brown.com which is a React website so I can begin to bear my build my company website bear brown and company. So, we just grab the little link to the repository here. We put it in there. You give it a name and we begin the import. So, this is usually fairly quick. This is not a huge huge uh repository. If it were bigger, it would take longer. So, it'll probably take two, three, four,
[0:52]Five minutes maybe to do this. If we go to our repositories, we can see it already began to build it, but it's updating it now. But when it's finished building, it'll basically look identical to this. So again, to review, you go to the import tool. You get your little link here, and it begins to import. How long it takes could be a couple minutes to a few hours depending on the the size of the repository. Okay, that's it. Do the light ring the bell switch glide thing. Uh, talk to you later.
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